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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Roasted Chicken and Caramelized Onion Tacos

I'm finding new ways to use bone in, skin on, chicken breasts every day. When chicken went on sale I bought a few packages and put them in my freezer and they are really coming in handy. Not only are they less expensive than boneless, skinless breasts but because you cook them with the skin on they are fool proof. I guess doing this contradicts the idea of chicken breasts being low fat but I still think it's on the healthy side. After all, we are removing the skin, we're not eating it. Anyway, I threw this dinner together on a whim tonight. I had a little of this and a little of that in the fridge and I wanted to use it up. I cringe at the amount of food that gets wasted in my house. I try to really keep on top of it but it happens more often than I would like. You can use whatever you have left in your house to come up with a little sauce and if you don't have anything, we discovered tonight that ranch dressing is a decent stand in for sour cream.

I wasn't really focusing on taking pictures of this dish because I didn't realize it was going to turn out so good. I had to use a roasted chicken picture from another dish and I didn't take a picture of the onions when they were completely finished but you get the idea. Also, the final picture is of the taco open so you can see what is inside.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of cumin, garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool and shred chicken and place in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp lime juice, a little cumin, salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add butter and 1 tbsp oil, when butter melts add onions. Do not stir for about 10 minutes and onions begin to soften. Season with sugar, salt and pepper and lower heat to low. Allow to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until onions are soft and begin to take on some color. Stir occasionally. When cooked through, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. In same pan, add salsa, the rest of the lime juice and a some hot sauce. Stir to combine. Add corn, peppers, and olives. Cook until just heated through.

4. Assemble your tacos. Sprinkle tortilla with cheese and heat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, just until cheese is melted. Add shredded chicken, salsa and onions. Top with sour cream or ranch dressing if you like. Roll and enjoy!

15 comments:

Michele...I, also, have been buying more bone in, skin on breasts after seeing how wonderful Ina Garten's always come out. I think you are right...you throw the skin away after it's cooked so it is still lower in fat, but the skin and bone really do keep it juicy. The chicken tacos look wonderful! I actually tried some shrimp tacos a few weeks ago....also very good!

I also love using bone-in chicken breasts, and I love your tacos with caramelized onions! What a great combination- isn't wonderful when something unexpected just comes together and tastes amazing.Thanks for the tip about the ranch dressing.

I saw that you were making these for dinner the other day and my mouth started salivating instantly. This looks so good, especially with the onions. I love it when healthy and affordable meets tasty, like it does here :). Happy Valentine's!